Art of knitting seamless plated hosiery.



E. A. HIRNER. ART 0F KNITTING SEAMLES8 PLATED HOSIERY.

APPLIUATKON FILED DEG 1, 1910 1,023,31 3. Patented Apr.16,1912

2 SHEETQP'SHEET l,

EL A. BLHN Am n KNITTING Em. PLMW manna.

"FPLZGATL'UR FRED M115 1, WW

1,0233% 1 3. Eatented Apr. 1. 6, 1912.

[5,1 lwwv' U cause them to be knit together but in such tempt hasusually been ating perati n in 1h heel and r porrshirt :5. Examine, ormnurown, rmmsrnvsma ART or xun rms snnmnnss PLATED 308mm.

Specification of Letters Patent i Patented Apr. 16,

Application filed December 1, 1910. Serial No. 595,9"

To all whom'tt,myfconurn; I i p y Be it known t'lnit I, EMIL A HInNEn,oil Allentown, inrthe county of""'Leh1gh and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certainnew and useful Improvements in the Art of KnittingSeamless Plated Hosiery, whereof thefollowing is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawin s.

The operation of plating is well known in knitting and consists in sofeeding two threads simultaneously to the needles as to a Way that onethread, called the plating yarn, always appears upon the face of thefabric, while the other, called the body yarn, always appears upon theback of thefabric.

In the knitting of seamless hosiery, no atmade to plate the heel andtoe'pockets. The reason for this, is I that these pockets are the resultof a fashioning operation, in which the knitting is performed by areciprocatory motion of the machine accompanied. with narrowing andvwidening" of a flat Web with interlooped selvages. Tho plating operationis a delicate one. its proper performance being dependent upon therelative positions and tensions of the threads as they enter theknitting oporation. In the fashioningof a heel or too pocket. thediscovery ofthe proper position for the threads at the point where thesutures occur, 5. 0., the union or interloopmom of the selvages of thenarrowed and widened fabrics, has been a difficult prob lent and has notheretofore been solved. This has prevented the general adoption ofplated stockings, for although the plating opt-ration may be availed ofin order to pr (lllll i-olor effects in hosiery. yet one of itsimportant uses is to permit the lining of a llulilug with an undycd orunrolored yarn. llany persons for sanitary reasons prefer to hurtthefoot of a stocking made of such undyod yarn. and. for this reasonparti-colorml stockings, sometimes called split-fhot slot-kings, aremade with the leg! and in- Hr]; oi rolol'ctl yarn. andthe sole and heeland loo pot-hots ot' unrlyrd yarn. A much uoalor and more serviceablestocking is one made throughout of colored yarn or silk linwl upon theinside with plain or undyod cotton yarn by a plating operation. and yet1 lhe iuilur lo scr-or-ssiullv a complish the ets, where its presence ismost desired, has I limited the field of the plated st-ockin Accordingto my invention I am a le to plate the entire seamless stocking so that,for instance, a colored yarn and an undyed yarn may be used throd bout,and throughout the stocking the colored yarn will appear on the outsideand the undyecl yarn on the inside. In speakingl of a plated stocklog, Ido not necessari y includes ribbed 5 top, although, of course, thismaybe added and may also be plated if desired.

So far as concerns the parts of a seamless stocking which are knit inrotary fashion (that is to say, the entire leg and Toot), no descriptionis here necessary, as they are composed of plain tubular rotaryknitting, and are plated in the way which is known in the art. I willtherefore confine my -de scription to the special robleni which I havesol'ved, to wit, the p sting of the heel and toe pockets, and, as theyare reeilsely alike, a description of one is a description of the other.i

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I, is a diagrammatic View of astocking with a small square indicated therein in dottedlinesto showtheprecise position of the portion of knitting illustrated in Fig. IV.-Figs II,

and III, are enlarged views showing t e position of the threads upon,the needlesrespectively, immediately before and im'me (liately after thereversal of'the thread, in the formation of the suture loops. Fig. IV,shows upon an enlarged scale the structure of a plated fabric when madein accordance with my invention, taken from the'side of the heel pocketof the stocking illustrated in Fig. I, with the suture passingdiagonally acrt'iss it. Referring now to Fig. IV :It wi l be observedthat it consists of two knit salvaged fnbl'its with their courses at.right angles and their selvagos interlooped, and composed throughout oftwo yarns namely, a plating yarn 1, indicated throughout by striatedshading, and a body yarn 2, indiratrd throughout by absence of shading.The two yarns are knit together simultaneously throughout, but in suohfashion as to cause the plated yarn to always appear on the fare of thefabric, and the body yarn upon the hack. My invention relates to themethod or process of knitting by which a 1 srhngml fabric of thischaracter is to be diagonally arraii ed sides of the knitting p vknitting (not visible) lacks this ridged ap- On' the ot er hand, theback of the pearance and consists entirel of the tops bottomsoftheloopa; or, if we think of thefsucces's'ion of'loops in a course ofknitting, as corresponding to waves, the back of the fabric consists, ofthe successive crests and furrowsj, It will be seenthat the loops damnlie lengthwise the fabric, but are almostliorizontal, that the ordinaryknitting loop passes] twice through the fabric its head and footoccupying the back and its" sides dictate The'plating'yarn at the backof the fabric lies within the circles constituting the tops and bottomsof the loops rim-dc by the body yarn, consequently, the body yarn aloneappears on the back and the platin yarn is here hidden, as for example,at 3, in Fig. IV. It must be borne in mind that the fabric is shown in astretched condition so as to show as much, as possible of the loops.When relaxed the walls formed by theysidcsrof the loops are almost orquite in contact so that the tops andbottoms of the loops are notvisibleon the face of the fabric. At the sides of the loops the yarnscome to the face after being interlooped with the preceding course, and

here the body yarn is buried in the fabric,

while the plating yarn appears upon. the

face, as shown at 4. The description thus given applies to the entiretwo fabrics shown, so far as they are composed of plain knitting. Butthese two fabrics have their courses at right angles to each other, andare finishedrby diagonal selvages each interlmit with the other. This isthe structure which results from the fashioning operation as commonlpracticed in the makingmf seamless hosiery, but it results in anirregularity in the knitting, and the roblem which I have solved hasbeen the discovery of the method of laying the two threads during theinterknitting of these selvages for the production of a suture, by whichthe same efl'ect is produced throughout, to wit, the plating yarnmaintained constantly on the face of the fabric and the body yarn on theback, so that the suture is plated as welt as the ordinary straightcourses of the narrowed and widened fabric. This plating of the sutureis most important not only because of the improved appearance of 'the'iproducfl wliere the suture portions are plated, but because if there ishere airsversal of the yarns, it perpetuates itsel'i in the straightcourses of the heel or toe producing a mottled result.

The selvage formation wich is illus-j tra'ted, is that most commobf'lused in American seamless hosiery, imi-which'thd narrowing and wideningprocess is performed upon what is known as the two and one method, amethod wellilmo'wii to those skilled in the art and which need not belierevdescribed,'but itis obvi'ousthat my in:

vention is equally :applicable to a selvag'e '80 Referring to' theselvage of that fabric" formed upon the one and'tone niethod.

must b'e-considered as runningone wayand the odd numbers running theother, It

be sufiicient to describe the selvage of two courses, asalltheothersare'identical. Taki ing for example, the course numberedIS, it is cutoil at the top'of B loop; -Aftebmbk1ng the complete loop the top ofiwhich is humbered 21, it (passes down a-t 224; 23; and

then instea of forming an or nary loop,

forms the selvage loop 24, in which as be fore the plating yarn is.mai:ntainedupon the inside of the loop, so that the body yarn is thrownto the back. With the yarns in this position the side of the selvageloop is retracted behind the" bottom "of the loop which immediatelypreceded the selvage loop re-a peering at 25. Durin this.d1stance theody yarn has been maintained at the back, so that it maintains itsposition where the thread again interloops with the ri lit hand side ofthe loop whose top ismar ed- I 21, after which it re-appearsu on the.face of the fabric at 26, andy27, w ich are the sides of the loops of anew course '19. It will be observed that the plating yarn which has beenburie'cl in the fabric since the formation of the selva loop 24, herepr0perl reappears upon ,t e face at the sides 0 the loops and continuesi this the entire courseclil. Commgnow .to the other fabric formed ofvertical courses", which anehmnbered from 30 to42, it will be convenientto {take the thread which is numbered 38,- and follow its course asindicating the course of all the other evenly numbered threads. It formsa loop the top of which is marked 44, with the plating .yarn held to theinside of the half circle formed by the body yarn which is there thrownto the back of the fabric. Wherethe head of the next loop should beformed, the yarns at 45, are both temporarily buried in the fabric, andthen back. The yarns continue and completelyosition during encircle thesides of the selvage loop of the other fabric, which is formed by theyarn. l6, and come to the face of the fabric at 47, with the platingyarn forming the sides of a loop lying to the face. This loop justdescribed constitutes the selva-ge loop of this course, that is to say,it is the point where the yarns after passing in one direction retracetheir steps and are laid in the other direct -ion. This loop iscompleted at 49, after which the threads pass to the back after havinginterlooped with the bottom of the loops formed by the yarn 16, and passdiagonally at 50, Where the body yarn is visible upon the back and areretracted to form the loops, of which the sides are marked at 51. and At53. these yarns are again at the hack of the fabric with the body yarnthere showing, from whence their course to 39, is readily traced.

The fabric which I have thus described, in I believe new, considered asa structure. Its characteristic is that in the formation of the selvageloop; and during tho-entire irregular course which the are required tofollow in order that they may take their place in the formation of thenext course, (that is throughout the entire suture p0rtion), the specialpositions of the two yarns are maintained, that is to say, the platingyarn invariably takes theshort course in the rounding of the head orfoot of the loop, so that the body yarn there appears upon the bark ofthe fabric, while on the other hand, at the sides of the loops theplating yarn overlies the body yarn on the face of the fabric. I havediscovered that in order to pro duce a fabric of this character, inwhich a, fashioning suture is incorporated in the knitting and plated,it is essential that the two yarns shall be fed to the needles in adefinite and predetermined way, and especially that this position of theyarns be maintained with great accuracy at a certain critical point ofthe operation, to wit:-tl1e point Where the return of the threads occursin the. formation of the suture. The impor tance of properl) feeding thetwo threads to the needles at this point of the operation resides in thefact that if inversion of the threads occurs at this point, itperpetuates itself during the entire course of knitting which succeeds.thereby ruining the plated client. The method of knitting which Iemploy, and which results in the fabric which I have. described, will beunderstood by reference to l igs. H, and III, of the drawings.

rig. ll, represents three successive needles l. and 52. l llt" platingthread and the body thread are indicated at l, and 2, respco lively. Asshown in Fig. ll, 61, is the last. needle of the fashioning set for thecourse which is being: unit. while 30, is the end needle of the idleholding a loop of the w ceding course.

The two threads 1, and 1.,

threads.

have been fedwithin the hooks of needles 62, and 61, so that the bodyyarn 2, lies uppcrmost upon the shank of the needle. While the platingyarn being fed at a more obtuse or flat angle lies below, the resultbeing the for mation of a knit fabric in which the body yarn shows uponthe hack and the plating yarn upon the face of the fabric. At the pointin the knitting operation illustrated in Fig. I], the yarn rarrier iscarrying the two yarns beyond the end of the fashioning set withoutrontinuatii'in of the knitting operation. because of the [art that theneedles from 50. on. are raised. to the idle lore! and cannot knit. Soonthe Yfiltl carriers return upon tl'ien'iselves occasimiingr. as thisoperaticis usually performed, a slackening of the tension. It is herethat. the natural twist of the yarns enta-ngling the fuzz whichordinarily projects from knitting yarns, tends to occasion a reversal ofthe position of the This I avoid hyproperly controlling the position ofthe threads as the yarn carrier passes to the other side of the firstneedle of the fashioning set, as shown in Fig. I II, so that the threadsare in their proper relative positions prior to the feeding of the.thread to the first and succeeding needles of this active series. servedin the figure, that this needle has advanced snlliciently to take the.threads under its hoolr, and it must be especially observed that in thisreversed position. the body thread is again led across the shank of theneedle over the plating thread. This is accomplished by reversing theplating; yarn under tension, to a. symn'iet rival posit ion si llll larto that which it occupicd when nioviin, in its first direction, and at.a similar obtuse angle. The body yarn is likewise reversed at its priorangle, both threads being: thus correctly positioned on the first andsucceeding needles of the active series. By laying the threads in thisfashion. at l": J 'LTlllGZil point, inversion of the threads isiirevcnted, and a continuation of the plating process course by course,is insured.

The i'nacliine which i have devi ed to en able me to most con eniently&'l (ml the process herein claimed. is i'l sryril-eil in an. applicationtiled o me under date it l chruary 15th. 1901', Serial Plumber 3514 I amawar of etlorts which ha e previously been made, although as for I candiscover. always unsuited ful, to plate the straight courses of narrowedand widened fabric. which inulie up heel or t pockets.

The larlr of success of such ello has heen lue. as l iielie c. [re theto oi tin ltnib tor t realize how to plate the suture W t h to eludingall the selva tnre, and I find that culties which have h lating of theheel a ing, are done awa the suture loo scheme, the

ge loops of the strucby doing this, the difliofore been found in mi toemembers of a with; since it once ps are plated accordi maintenance ofthe angular relation, with. the body thread uppermost on the shankof theneedle, and the plating thread occupying the flatter angle; continuinthis operationto the point Where the three. s turnupon themselves toform the sutureloops'of the fashioned portion; and

Y thereupon as the jdirection of the travel 015 sition of the thrpresents no pal ghout the straight 'tieula r diflicult-y,

the threads is reversed, throwing the plating threadfto ,a' reversedposition at a similar fiat ang1e,,a1'1'd throwingthe body threadover"the plating thread at'a higher angle if, as has heretofore ad tospecially, me are allowed tiring this partally impossible position ofthe yarns rses of the narrowed since if the yarns start reversedposition the reetuate itself.

g thus described my invention, I:

while on the otl been the case, plating the sut to lie in hapha of thelmittin to maintain th during the str and widened fabric, from thesuture in a versal tends to perp no regard is h ure, and the ya zardrelation d g, 1t 15 practie prior to'thea'f eeding ofthe thread to' thefirst and succeeding needles of the active series, \v'he fehy'the roperrelation of the threads is Ina ntaineiil mediatelysuoceeding reversal,and through out the'lmitting operation. 5.

In testimony whereofirI have hereunto S1'gned, my, name at Allentown,Pa., this twenty-fifth 'da y'of November, 1910.

The improvement in seamless plated hosiery, feeding simultaneously tobody thread and plating t the art of knit-ting.

which consists in the active'nee hread in dill EMIL A. HIRNER.

nesse muss. Ho'rrnnsrnm, R. R. ABBOTT.

during the loops im-

